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Shake-up in Kotoko

Dr K. K. Sarpong - Kotoko CEOThe Executive Board chairman of Kumasi Asante Kotoko, Dr Kofi Kodua Sarpong has announced plans to revamp the communications directoirate of the club by appointing a new head to replace Listowel Yesu Bukarson.

Under the new arrangement communication teams were to be formed in Kumasi, Accra, Tarkwa, Sunyani, Cape Coast, Takoradi to focus on the club’s new policies, adding that “every supporter of the club needed to play the role in giving the club a good image.

Dr Sarpong made the revelation when he outlined a five-year programme for the club at a well-attended meeting with the Greater Accra Circles Council and a cross section of supporters of the club at the Old Timers Sport, at Adabraka in Accra last Monday night

Dr Sarpong, in a power-point presentation, gave a vivid account of the short, medium and long-term projects, the progress of work and how the club was going to prosecute the projects to their logical conclusion.

He said the era of lip-service was gone forever and the time had come for the club to give real meaning to offering the club qualitative administration as well as building winsome teams for the club.

Accordingly, he said the club had decided to “catch the players young” by instituting youth teams right from age 12 with the provision of the requisite residential, shopping, recreational, training, health and
educational facilities.

He said the overall aim was not only making the club-self supporting and self-generating but also ensuring that football development and promotion at the club level in Ghana, compared favourably with those of
the established clubs in Europe and elsewhere.

“We are building the requisite structures and pursing the right policies and programmes to run the club along sound professional lines with appropriate benchmarking and clearly laid down procedures to attract mouthwatering sponsorship packages,” he said.

He bemoaned specifically the prevailing circumstances where the club was compelled to contract high-profiled players who were still controlled by their former clubs and therefore left midstream at a time when their services were needed by Kotoko.

“This surely is not best practice. Team building on long-term basis is the best industry-practice”, he said and declared that Kotoko was gradually moving away from that practice to ensure sound club administration.

Under the five-year ambitious programme, a three-storey building comprising Kotoko shopping centre, two changing rooms, club offices, technical rooms, gym, conference rooms currently under construction at Ajako Jachie, the club’s village complex near Kumasi.

Another two-storey building to contain 24 bed rooms with appropriate facilities to house the players will be constructed while in the areas of pitch infrastructure, two have been completed with plans to construct an Astro turf next year through enhanced sponsorship packages to be known as the Asante Kotoko-RLG Arena.

He also used the occasion to brief the supporters on the financial position of the club and said even though the club continued to enjoy massive sponsorship packages, gate intake proved to be the biggest revenue last year.

Dr Sarpong commended the supporters for their financial contributions and urged them to remain dedicated and committed partners in the administration of the club.

He also took time to explain to the supporters the player transfer saga and made it clear it was not a deliberate plan to weaken the team but something which the club had little or no control, hence the decision to run the club on sound professional lines.

Story: Albert Sam / Graphic Sports

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